Broken
by Still Bullet
Summary: It had been done. Ahriman had let the corruption flow through her land. All because of his doing. And there was nothing Elika could do about it. One-shot. -Spoilers for the ending of the 2008 Prince of Persia-


_Hey, guys! Glad to know that I finally finished this story while ignoring life for a couple of weeks. I got Prince of Persia for Christmas, and after beating it I realized, Wow, that ending was a punch to the face now, wasn't it? I absolutely love the Prince of Persia--both the game and the character--although I think that people were too hard on the game because of the voice acting. Yes, he would have sounded better with an accent, but I thought that the acting and voice were well done, nonetheless. Prince of Persia was definetly a hell load of fun, and while the only other game of the series I've played to date was Sands of Time, I have to say that it was my favorite Prince of Persia ever. Totally an awesome game!_

_Anyway, the ending made me immediately check out to see if anybody wrote about it--I was surprised to see that yeah, there were a couple, but not exactly as I was expecting. Anyways, I gave my shot at the real, REAL ending. I'm very, very proud to tell you guys that this story came out to be a beautiful 12 pages and 4,700 words, and with not-crappy quality! I never thought I'd get that much out of me! Anyways, let's move on, shall we?_

**_Based on: Prince of Persia 2008 (Ubisoft)  
Rating: I'd give this one a K+ for a lot of emotional conflicts and some very slight violence and blood.  
Author's Notes: Obviously, in case you haven't guessed yet, there's spoilers for the end of the game, so please don't read this unless you have beaten the game or know the ending. Even if you don't care about spoilers, you won't get it unless you've seen it.  
_****_So, I get told a lot by reviewers that I'm pretty good at getting inside people's heads. That's mainly what I tried to do here. I'm actually very proud about how it all came out, although I think it does sound a little like I was stalling, which was not intentional. Either way, I really do hope you enjoy it!  
Oh yeah, as for the title, I really don't know why I called it that. I guess it relates to this story, but explaining why would be something that nobody would like to read._**

--

"_If you would have your wish…  
_…_then give me _mine!"

--

It had happened so quickly, so suddenly. So quickly that her emotions were unable to be released, so fast that her eyes could not see what she had wanted, so suddenly that her lips were unable to say the rest of what she wished she could.

"I'm sorry."

It was all she could possibly say in that small amount of time. She wished she could have said more, more to the man she had grown attached to, the man who had helped made all of this possible.

The man who she had loved.

But the energy drained from her veins before she could do anymore. Her senses had slipped away, leaving a numbness that blocked out the feel of the ground as her limp body had crashed with it. The light, the light that sparkled in her eyes…it had faded; disappeared, as her eyelids slipped closed. Her mouth was left slightly parted, as though she were about to say more, as though she _could _say more.

If only she were able to.

"_You have done well, Elika_."

The voices spoke to her as she watched the world fade to black. They were a million different voices, a million different tones, although they all spoke the same words and at the same time. But the collection of voices sounded…soothing, to her. It erased the anger, the fear, the sadness that had torn at her soul.

"_You have sealed away Ahriman forever_."

Her vision slipped in. Shades of blue were the first things she had seen. A glow corrupted her vision, making her shield her eyes with a single hand as her pupils took a moment to adjust.

Touch had begun to circle through her nerve system again. It took a moment for her mind to comprehend, but she could feel her body lying on its side, her cheek pressed against the floor.

And yet, it felt like nothing was there. It felt like no floor was there to hold her up. There was no pressure on her body. Whatever was holding her up, though, seemed to refuse to let her fall. Elika could feel energy slip through her muscles, circulating through her blood and urging her to get up. At first, she didn't want to. At first, she was hesitant. She was held back by fear, fear of what was possibly ahead. Fear of what could be near her, fear of the world she was in now.

It wasn't her land.

She could tell that much.

The voice wasn't that petty thief, that tomb raider who stuck with her only because he cared about getting back to his home and burying himself in the gold that he had found.

And yet he loved her.

She got up. She wasn't sure what had sparked her body into action like that. Maybe the fear had been overcome with the question of: was he here? Was he waiting there for her to arise, waiting for her to take his hand? Ready to stay with her…forever?

She held her breath as she looked around.

No, she should have known. She should have known that life was no longer in her veins. She had left her body. She had left her land.

She had left him.

"_Do not be afraid_."

Engulfed by her thoughts, Elika had nearly forgotten that voice that had tried to reach out to her. It wasn't him, she knew that. She wished that it was, but it wasn't.

She didn't think that she was capable of words. She didn't think that her vocal chords would allow her to say anything. And yet…

"Who are you?"

The voice remained silent for awhile. Elika spun her body around frantically, as though she was hoping to find the source. Whoever was talking had to be here. Whoever was talking had to be proof that she was perhaps alive.

But no, this was death. This was not her land; this was not the land she knew. What surrounded her puzzled her mind. Everywhere she looked, a blue abyss was around her. Orbs of light bobbled around, silently traveling past her head and around her body and out into the depths. The orbs seemed to resemble light seeds, Elika suddenly noticed. And yet, they did not speak. The light seeds would whisper to her in the ancient language, the one she spoke with a fluent tongue whenever the situation had called for her powers. But these orbs of light were silent, speechless.

"_I am the one that you have been searching for_."

At first a feeling of happiness shot through her spirit. At first she thought that maybe, just somehow, maybe, it was him. She didn't know how it would be possible, but it could be him. Maybe she hadn't died. Maybe she was just in a dream, a fantasy, her mind just waiting for her to wake up and take control of her body once more.

But no, logic had been blinded by her love. She knew it, and there was no way she could deny it. Her life was over. It had ended.

That's when it struck her.

"…Ormazd?"

The voices chuckled at the mention of the name, echoes bouncing off invisible walls, leaving her absorbed in the ambience.

"_Yes_."

It had taken her awhile for the thought to process. The voices had said yes. The voices had agreed to her.

It was Ormazd. It really was Ormazd.

"How?" she whispered. The fact that the word was able to slip out from her lips shocked her, almost as much as Ormazd's presence had. But then her emotions became mixed; thrown together to form a feeling she was unable to understand.

"Where were you when we needed you?" Her voice had risen. She couldn't tell if it were because of emotion or if she felt overwhelmed by the god of light's presence. Ormazd didn't seem to be intimidated by the sudden change of her voice.

"_You did not need me_." At first, the response sent anger swarming into her brain. How could he have said that? How could he, the god who had locked Ahriman up originally, allow this to happen? Maybe her companion…that marauder…was right. Maybe Ormazd just didn't care about what happened to any of them.

But no, that was not true. Meeting him was not just a coincidence. Making it through the land, through the hardships, through the battles, through the corruption…that wasn't just their doings. That wasn't him and Elika just somehow defying the odds.

She looked up, as though she expected to see the god. Yet, nothing but the blue abyss and the orbs of light surrounded her.

"_You both had everything under control. Ahriman was doomed from the start. If he were not, did you really think that I would send in that man instead of me?_"

Elika remained silent at the response. She looked away from the heavens, or whatever it could be. Her thoughts became covered with emotions, overloading her mind.

"Tell me," she continued, her eyes focused on the ground…or, rather, the abyss beside her feet. "Am I…dead?"

Silence was her answer for a few moments.

"_Yes_", Ormazd finally responded. "_You are. You have done the right thing, Elika. You have trapped Ahriman once again._"

That's when she felt her body shoot upwards.

No, no, it wasn't possible, _no_. Breaths entered her lungs. Life circled in her veins. Her vision no longer saw the glows of light.

Instead, darkness.

The colorless view of her land in ruin.

In corruption.

"_Why_?"

It was all she could force out before she felt her mind fade out once again. But this time life remained in her veins. Ormazd's voice no longer soothed her. Light no longer danced around her.

Only darkness.

This life wasn't hers to keep. This shouldn't be happening. She had given her life in order to seal Ahriman back within the tree. She couldn't possibly be alive again, _no_. Was this a test from Ormazd? Was he trying to see if she were now…fearless? Selfless? Willing to give up her life again?

It felt like a million eons had gone by before she finally regained her energy. Her eyes crept open slowly at first. They half-opened, and then slipped closed.

She was afraid again. Afraid of what could possibly lay before her. She knew that her land had been corrupted once again. She knew that the beauty of her world had been drained away. She knew that corruption was eating away at the creations of her people. And she knew that Ahriman was in control, and this time they could do nothing about it.

She wanted to make sure this wasn't a dream. She wanted to make sure this wasn't a test. She wanted to make sure that life was really circling through her once again.

She wanted to make sure he was there.

At that point, her eyes slipped open. Her vision was blurry, but the bleakness of her corrupted land could be seen.

She blinked.

Her vision remained weak.

"…Elika?"

She blinked, once again. Who was that? Was it Ormazd? Was it Ahriman?

…was it him?

Her body remained motionless, limp. She couldn't gather enough energy to arise, or even so much as lift a finger. All she could possibly manage were things that even surprised herself.

"Did you…?" With her lack of energy, she was surprised she could even talk. Yet, the words escaped her lips. Her vision was still blurry, but she could begin to see details slipping in. She was left with silence. And then…

"I had no choice."

Insult slammed against her mind at the words. How could he say that? _She_ had no choice when it came to giving her life away. She _had _to seal Ahriman back into the tree. She _had _to give her life in order to do so. _He_ had a choice. He could have left her body there to rot, forgotten or alive in memory, but not this. He didn't have to do this.

She felt angered. She wanted to scream at him, but her love for him would not allow her to do so. She wanted to run away from him, but she still lacked the energy.

The details were coming into view, now. She could finally see. But what was visible made her wish that she was forever blind.

Her land was corrupted. She knew that, that did not surprise her. The corruption of the land she tried so hard to save…_they_ tried so hard to save…it still hurt. She still felt pain seeing her land like this. But that was not what gave her the desire to be blind.

There he was. The man she loved. He was in a squat, his eyes looking directly into hers. Elika could sense the gritty feeling of sand against her skin. He had probably placed her atop one of the small sand dunes of the desert. She doubted that she was anywhere else, for she knew he was unable to progress past the chasms without her help.

He continued to stare at her, letting the silence be. Elika was ashamed to look at him. He was no longer the man she had known. Ahriman had stolen his soul, now.

He was now corrupted.

His body was laced together with the tendrils of corruption, yet his old appearance was still somewhat recognizable, even though he was completely transformed. He still had his cape, his "lucky scarves", the rest of his clothing—those remained in their rightful places. His hair had been transformed into black smoke, which flicked off from his head at a certain distance that resembled the length of where his jagged hair would have ended. His gauntlet had been completely swallowed by the corruption—it was now fused to his hand, it was now a part of him. His face was nothing but laced corruption—his blurry, tired blue eyes had faded. They was now a solid color of what his irises had been. The rest of his facial features had disappeared, although Elika managed to notice that the small scar beneath his eye still remained.

She could hardly look at him. How could he allow this to happen? How could he possibly allow himself to fall for Ahriman's tricks, release him back into the world, allow him to steal his soul?

"Why?" she asked. "Why have you done this?"

Their gaze became broken as he tore his bleak eyes away from hers.

"…I need you, Elika." He said the words so softly, so smoothly, that for a moment, all of Elika's anger had disappeared. It didn't take long before it re-entered her mind, however. He returned his gaze to her. "You're all I have. I couldn't lose you."

The emotions that spun through Elika's head left her unable to reply. She didn't know what she could say. She felt sympathy, sadness, pity, anger, even hatred, all aimed at him. But she didn't know what she could _possibly_ say. She simply shook her head in disgust, changing her attention to the sand beside her.

It took a moment for words to be expressed. But finally, some were spoken.

"I love you."

They both already knew that. They both already knew that for a long time. They just never admitted it. Now that he had, however, Elika felt somewhat understanding. She could not live without him after this, either. But her mind quickly resented her emotions. He had released Ahriman. He had let her land fall to ruin, doomed to live in the presence of darkness for all eternity.

"Elika, I know you love me too." Elika still kept her gaze concentrated on the sand. She absolutely refused to look at the corrupted man. Despite her actions, he continued.

"I'm a prince, Elika."

The sudden confession struck Elika with surprise. He said it so simply, as though it was the last thing that mattered. Why hadn't he told her? Why would a prince run away from his land, from his duty? Why would he trade all of that in for robbing the dead of everything instead?

She should have known, though. The Concubine had teased them many times throughout their battles with her, and Elika thought she heard her toying with him about how he was a prince who had ran away from his duty. But she never paid attention to her. The Concubine was made from lies, jealousy, and hatred—Elika never thought that she would be capable of even hinting at the truth. But she was right. Elika couldn't believe it. He _was_ a prince.

The Prince continued, despite the fact that Elika's mind was now swimming in thoughts. "I know I've never told you, but now…you and I can still rule this land, together. Your father is no more."

Elika's muscles tightened at the mention of her father.

"I can be king, now. Elika, you can be queen. You can still rule this land."

Elika felt like he was begging for forgiveness. She felt like he was trying to justify his actions with such offerings. They didn't matter to her. _He_ didn't matter to her.

"What good is it to rule a kingdom if it is not mine?" Hot tears rolled down her face, soaking into the grains of sand as they made contact. "Why should I rule my land if it is forever corrupted?"

The Prince remained silent. The tears were escaping from her eyes faster and more abundantly than Elika had expected.

"I shouldn't be here," she whispered. Sobs began to crack out from her vocal chords. "I _should_ be _dead_!" She let the last statement roar out into a scream out of pure disagreement. It was as if she were telling the demons to kill her, kill her now. She didn't want this life. She didn't _need _this life.

The Prince remained where he was. Elika was unable to tell if he were either lost in thought or trying to think of what he could do to calm her down.

Or maybe he was just indifferent to this entire thing.

He didn't care that he had released the god of darkness. He didn't care that he had doomed more than just this land. He just _didn't care_. He never cared about anything, even before he had met her.

And yet, the back of her mind resented this.

He had to care about her. He _loved _her. She loved _him_. If he didn't care, then he could have left her alone to die, leave the Fertile Grounds forever corrupted. No, he cared, he must have cared. He must _still _care.

She didn't know how she was able to, but she managed to lock eyes with his again. Her vision was blurred; parts of her face became stiff with salty tear-trails as they raced down her cheeks. She was breathing deeply, although she was attempting to calm herself down.

"You didn't have to do this."

She just let the words float in the air, her sobs surrounding it. The Prince looked at her, his face remaining without emotion. He probably wasn't capable of even showing any.

"I wanted to be with you." He seemed so…pathetic, to her. He would rather trap the world forever instead of accepting her sacrifice? "Elika, please tell me you understand why I did this!" His voice had risen as he neared the end of his statement. Elika wasn't sure what emotion made him do that—it didn't seem to be anger, more like desperation. She felt stiff when he locked eyes with hers again. She could just picture how he would look if he still had a face—that only made her feel more depressed.

She continued to leave him in silence.

"I still can't believe you did that," she finally responded. The back of her head began to poke at her as she could feel some strength enter back into her muscles. It was not enough to run away, however. It was not enough to leave this place.

The Prince arose from his squat after taking his turn at the "silent game". He looked at her for a moment. Elika raised her head in order to face him.

That's when he held out his hand.

Elika wasn't sure what he wanted, anymore. He had left her with silent answers; she had denied everything he had wanted. But her love forced energy into her fingers.

She took his hand.  
Their fingers laced together.  
She felt her weight remove itself from her body for a moment as the Prince pulled her up.

Elika felt her heart tremble as she leaned her weight up against the Prince's chest. Her legs were still weak, refusing to carry the burden of her bodyweight. The Prince wrapped his arm around her back, being careful not to dig into her flesh with his claws that used to be of the gauntlet. Elika let her head drop onto his shoulder, her eyes focused on the sand beside their feet. The Prince leaned his head forward, softly whispering comforting words to her.

"I'm sorry I hurt you, Elika." He let the words escape his lips with about as much sympathy as the corruption would let him. Elika tried to ignore his words, but she could tell that he really meant it. "I'm sorry for everything."

"…no." Elika began the statement with tears flowing from her bloodshot eyes. She let the silence baffle the mind of the Prince before she continued, choking back sobs. "_I'm_ sorry."

She leaned away from the Prince, enough to manage to face his glowing eyes directly. The Prince looked confused and resentful at her words—he seemed rather angered at her, feeling as though she was blaming these events on herself. But his expression soon transitioned into shock once he realized what she was doing.

She placed her fingertips on his chest.

Her body began to glow.

"No…no, Elika, don't do this!"

He was screaming the words out of desperation, fear, even anger. The Prince let out a roar as pain surged through his soulless body.

"_No_!" The Prince screamed the words so loudly that it made Elika's heart jump a few beats. Fear and shock shot through her veins as pain surged against her skin, her body flying through the air for a moment before sand scraped up against her flesh.

A strange light corrupted her sight as she immediately changed her vision to focus on her attacker, ignoring the pain that entrapped her body within a hell of its own.

The Prince stood there, sword raised and pointed at Elika, his eyes alit with fury. The blade had become entangled with tendrils of corruption, alit with a blue glow that also covered the Prince's body. Tendrils had escaped from his back, flicking back and forth in his fury. Growls of anger and thoughts of violence slipped out from the Prince's mouth.

"_I did this for _you, _Elika_!" The Prince's voice snapped with anger, other voices echoing his words. The way his voice had transformed was similar to the way Ormazd had spoken to her, Elika noticed, only the voices that spoke with the Prince were deep and filled with hatred. "_I will _not _let you do this to me_!"

Elika felt unable to stand. The pain that pulsated throughout her body weakened her muscles and fogged her thoughts. Could this really be happening? Had the Prince really hurt her like that?

Elika yelped as she touched the side of her chest. Her torso seemed to have been slashed apart, blood dying the fabric and her flesh a sparkling scarlet. Four gashes ran down past her ribs, making Elika assume that it was damage caused by the clawed arm of the Prince. She looked at the Prince with gritting teeth, not of emotion but of pain.

"_You will be my queen, Elika_!" The Prince continued his shouts of anger. "_And I_…_I will be your king! Together, we will rule this land, corruption or not_!"

That's when a flash of light had blinded Elika. She could hear the angered grunts of the Prince, screaming at the sudden intrusion, while she allowed grunts to escape from her own lips.

"_I will not let you cause any more harm, brother_!" The intervening voice bellowed angered words towards an unknown being. That's when it came to Elika.

Ormazd had come to save them.

Elika wished she could see the events, but the light burned her eyes, making them sting due to the intensity. She allowed her full concentration on the voices after she realized that the only way she could tell what was going on was if she listened.

A chuckled roared out from a deep voice, sounding similar to the Prince, although Elika noticed that there were too many differences to be from him.

"_You have a lot of nerve showing up now, Ormazd._" Another strange form of laughter roared out from the mysterious speaker. "_I have conquered this city before, and I will gladly do it again. But first…_"

Silence broke into the conversation for a moment, giving a chance for Elika to think. Was that Ahriman? It had to be. Why else would Ormazd be here?

Elika's heartbeat suddenly jumped when she heard Ahriman shout the words, "_Kill her_!" She didn't even have to think about who he was talking about. Familiar voices pounded within her eardrums—the Prince had let out a war cry as she heard his footprints slam against the darkened sand. Fear shot through her mind, fogging her thoughts and the possibilities of what could happen and what she could possibly do. But there was nothing she _could _do. The little energy she had regained was drained away when she attempted to heal the Prince.

She could not run.

She could not fight back.

Elika braced her body for injury, prepared for the feel of her skin tearing once the sword had been driven through her body. The sounds of the Prince's screams and his pounding steps echoed in her ear drums louder and louder, making her grit her teeth together, awaiting death with no resistance…

That's when it all became silent.

Elika was certain that life had left her veins, the way it should have been from the start. She awaited her fate with her eyes closed, blocking everything with darkness. Elika was afraid to move, wondering where she could be if Ahriman had killed her.

No, she could not try to hide it. She had been killed by the Prince.

Elika was expecting to hear the soothing voice of Ormazd once again; she was expecting to see herself within that strange abyss, the mysterious orbs of light dancing around her body.

But she was left in silence.

Elika's thoughts were soon changed into questions. Had Ahriman somehow captured her soul? Was she in some type of…hell? Were there monsters surrounding her, ready to torture her for all eternity?

But no, nothing happened. Confused, Elika opened her eyes, although fear kept her muscles locked into a defensive position.

That's when she saw the tree.

There was no possible way. The Tree of Life had to have been destroyed—Ahirman had been released, that _had _to mean that his prison, the tree, had been broken. But Elika's eyes had proved the impossible. The tree was standing right there, engulfed in its glow and the beauty of inside the temple. The sound of running water soon softly rolled within her eardrums. The feel of dust, water, and grass slipped between her fingers. The horrible stench of corruption did not flood into her nostrils.

What was this?

A trick, it had to be. Elika's mind denied every other possible explanation. Maybe this was of the Concubine's doings. Maybe the rest of the Corrupted were prepared to ambush her as soon as she took a step.

Elika leapt to her feet before her mind could conjure up any other crazy thoughts. What was she thinking? The god that she had been awaiting for so long had finally came to save her. _That _had to be the explanation. Ormazd had sealed Ahriman within a new tree, hopefully now able to keep him away forever.

That's when Elika realized.

The Prince was no where to be found.

Choking back tears, Elika shook her head with disgust.

"It had to be done."

She didn't know why she told herself that. Yes, the Prince had to be stopped…but why did the only way have to be this? Why did he have to be sealed along with Ahriman?

No, stop it. There was no saving him. He tried to _kill _her. Why did she still want to see him?

That's when she heard a cough come from the temple doors.

She shifted her head towards the sound. The large door to the chamber that housed the Tree of Life had slowly cracked open, revealing nothing but a light that blinded her for a moment.

"Ahh man, do I have a major headache." The Prince came strolling into the chamber, hand held loosely around the hilt of his sword as always, cape and scarves swishing behind him. Elika could feel her body become weightless as happiness overcame her blood.

The Prince stared at his surroundings, seeming confused. He appeared as though he were about to say something, until he spotted Elika.

"Princess!" he shouted, quickly running towards her. He leapt from the high ground near the doors and into the chamber, landing with dust rolling across his feet. He walked over to her, his blue irises showing both concern and complete happiness.

"Oh, thank god!" he shouted, grabbing her delicate hands. "We did it! We sealed Ahirman!"

Elika looked at him, dumbstruck. The Prince was no longer corrupted—he was the same wisecracker she had always known him as within the few hours they had spent together. But had he not known what had happened? It appeared so. If he did, Elika was sure that she would be showered with apologies.

Elika managed to let out a smile, trying to shove away her questions. "Yes," she muttered, leaning her weight onto the Prince's chest, slipping her arms around the back of his neck. "We did." With one last breath, Elika let the words, "It's over", slip out from her lips.

And then she kissed him.

--

_Phew, that was long! I'd like to point out right now that I'm the only girl in the world who absolutely does not give a crap about love, and yet I made this pretty romantic. Don't know how that happened. Recently, I've been in a tragedy mood (if you've checked out my other stories, you'd realize that I like to be depressing. Strange, huh?) and I was very, VERY tempted to leave Elika alone in the corruption after she had healed the Prince and he had "blown up". But I continued on, making the Prince stop the healing before he poofed, and then I was tempted to let him kill her. But then I kicked myself in the stomach and told myself that death is bad and I should really get back onto the Happy Train. And then I made that cheesy one-liner ending, whoo!_

_Anyways, I'd like to thank you very much for reading this very, very long story, and I will greatly apprciate any feedback, positive or negative. Thanks, once again!_


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